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When “Convergence” comes to a close, the DC Universe will see a number of new series make their debut alongside many continuing favorites. One such addition to the DC Comics lineup is “Justice League of America,” a blockbuster-scale ongoing series from Bryan Hitch. The “Authority” and “Ultimates” artist will serve as both writer and artist for the series, a gig which — as he told USA Today — fulfills a childhood dream.

“The whole reason I have a passion for comics is these characters, and the whole reason I got into comics was to do these characters,” said Hitch. The creator revealed that he’s thrilled to handle DC icons Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Cyborg. His Batman, he revealed, has surprisingly become a source of humor in the epic series.

“Yes, he’s an ultimate hardass and the way he figures his way through problems is great, but I had no idea how much he was going to contribute to the humor of the story,” said Hitch. “That’s not to say Batman is cracking wise and being a Spider-Man guy — far from it. He has the most arid sense of humor on the planet, actually, but the dry one-liners come with the position he finds himself in with these other characters.”

Despite bearing “America” in its title and being set in New York City, the series will have a global scope that even Hitch finds daunting. The writer/artist said he worked to “corral [the debut story arc] into the number of issues because there is some massive scale stuff here I’ve never tried to draw before. Given what I’ve done in my career, that’s saying something.”

On the art front, Hitch touched upon his iconic, real-world redesign of the Avengers franchise in the early ’00s with “The Ultimates” and compared that to the more traditionally superheroic approach he’s using on “JLA.” “To me they don’t look right with the seams and the buckles,” said Hitch. “They look right to me when they’re spraypainted naked bodies, which is the opposite of the approach I had for ‘Ultimates.'”

Hitch’s take on the members of the JLA can be seen in a series of seven interlocking variant covers he produced for the series’ debut issue, with each one focusing on a lone member of the team.